Giving a “live” review a go. Celebrity Edge. Sydney to Tasmania. March 7-13

[onlyslightlymad]

Sorry, we got off the Great Barrier Reef cruise on Thursday.  Now home with Covid.

[Chiliburn]

1 minute ago, onlyslightlymad said:

The coffee is awful.  The best I managed was to go to the pod machine in the Retreat lounge, choose doppio, do it twice, then add your own milk.

I bought a coffee plunger along and I m pretty popular .

[MMDown Under]

59 minutes ago, onlyslightlymad said:

Sorry, we got off the Great Barrier Reef cruise on Thursday.  Now home with Covid.

I'm sorry to hear that.  I hope your Covid is mild and you make a quick recovery.  

[onlyslightlymad]

2 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

I bought a coffee plunger along and I m pretty popular .

Very clever.  I actually got off in Cairns for the express purpose of buying a coffee.

[onlyslightlymad]

1 hour ago, MMDown Under said:

I'm sorry to hear that.  I hope your Covid is mild and you make a quick recovery.  

Thank you.  So far just a very bad head cold and a bunch of fatigue.  Just staying at home so I don't pass it on to others.

[Okahukura]

3 hours ago, onlyslightlymad said:

Sorry, we got off the Great Barrier Reef cruise on Thursday.  Now home with Covid.

Sorry to hear that. I hope you come right soon. Not a nice momento of your holiday 

[arxcards]

7 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

I bought a couple of drinks last night out side of happy hours.

A coke was $US 6 and a bourbon and coke was $US18 ,that’s about $24 Australian.

Royal Caribbean for a bourbon and coke is $US11.

You need the XE app on your phone to do your conversions.

No additional tip?? 😉

[lyndarra]

11 hours ago, TrixieBel said:

The person in the pool swinging chair with their feet in the water had their shoes on… 🤢

 

(I am definitely reminded to never put my head under) 

They look like "reef" shoes. Shoes or feet, you don't know where either have been or what's growing in/on them.

[arxcards]

23 hours ago, TrixieBel said:

The person in the pool swinging chair with their feet in the water had their shoes on… 🤢

 

(I am definitely reminded to never put my head under) 

If you are getting caught on camera, you would have to be glad it wasn't on Symphony of the Seas.

[Okahukura]

18 hours ago, Nang said:

Good to see there is no gratuity on top of the high drink price. By the way $US18 is $AUD27 - that is scary high. Wonder what's a Corona/Heineken in $US?

I wonder if they raised the price so they could take off the gratuity charge.

[arxcards]

2 minutes ago, Okahukura said:

I wonder if they raised the price so they could take off the gratuity charge.

Yes, this is common when cruising from Australia. The menu pricing is increased to include the service charge as part of drink price.

[Okahukura]

Hobart. Yesterday was our Hobart day. The weather was very average got down to 18 degrees with drizzle. But certainly a lovely historic town to visit. I wasn’t expecting much and was pleasantly suprised. 
We did a Greyline tour which gave us a great overview of Hobart and then in the afternoon we went to MONA. MONA is a lot!!! Particularly as the weather wasn’t great so you couldn’t explore outside. 
You need a charger up phone that can access the app so you can find your way around and get information about the art. We had neither. So it was all very overwhelming. Glad we did it but we probably didn’t get the full experience. As you can see by the time we left the weather was pretty 💩 so that killed the buzz a bit as well. But I approve of any place that has lots of dog statues. And I definitely wish we had 2 proper days here as was on the original sailing schedule 

[Okahukura]

It was also our wedding anniversary yesterday. 10 whole years. So we got a nice treat at Luminae. Of course we needed a dessert wine to go with it 

[Chiliburn]

16 hours ago, arxcards said:

You need the XE app on your phone to do your conversions.

No additional tip?? 😉

I’m a bit of a cheap Charlie in the tip department but always tip the cabin attendant 

[Okahukura]

23 hours ago, Nang said:

Good to see there is no gratuity on top of the high drink price. By the way $US18 is $AUD27 - that is scary high. Wonder what's a Corona/Heineken in $US?

I wonder if they raised the price so they could take off the gratuity charge.

[Okahukura]

Someone wanted Cafe al Bacio prices. Here you go. My husband is currently on the Behind the Scenes tour. Looking forward to hearing what he thought of it. 

[Okahukura]

Husband enjoyed the ship tour. Found it very interesting and informative. The laundry is as you can imagine quite an operation 

[cruiser3775]

This wine list is also over the top in price. That Rawson's Cabernet can be bought for  $A8 a bottle in Australia compared to $US12 a glass on the ship.   I also hate the way they think wine drinkers don't want to know what vintage year the wines are or what wine growing area they come from.  If I was paying $100 plus for a bottle, I'd want to know more about it.  I guess the waiters know very little also?

Thanks for all the information, very helpful. I'm just about to give up on booking Celebrity. Just not a good fit for me.

[reeves35]

1 hour ago, Okahukura said:

Someone wanted Cafe al Bacio prices. Here you go. My husband is currently on the Behind the Scenes tour. Looking forward to hearing what he thought of it. 

AUD9.50 for a coffee is ridiculous.

[sonia2509]

If you bought the beverage package on a good deal like we did, none of these prices matter.  We are on American ship with over 1200 staff who have to be paid (yes not very well), but the same staff have their accommodation , food and I think work clothes to be laundried for free.  Then actual cost of running a ship, insurance, fuel etc on top of staff costs would be millions a year, and the company reports to shareholders and therefore have to make a profit, what are they meant to do cut prices to keep us happy?   Unfortunately the AUD is not good and if we go back 11-12 years ago when you would get $1.05 USD to $1 AUD people would not be complaining.  And yes that was in 2013 when we travelled to the States.  If you are not happy to pay for the beverage package even the basic which includes coffee and water and some alcoholic beverage, then do not buy the drinks.  This is my first cruise since 2019, and we were very lucky to get the classic beveridge and wifi included in the cost, we then upgraded to premium during the Black Friday sales for $10 a day!  The whole 6 night cruise with a successful bidding upgrade for, concierge to sky suite worked out to $1,800 per adult.  There are 3 of us and we cannot complain.  I have at least 3 coffees a day plus 3-4 sparkling waters plus wine and cocktails and at $300 a night for accommodation food and drink we are not complaining. There is no additional gratuities on top of the prices, therefore what you see is the actual price.   I am so happy to finally be back on a cruise ship and on my favourite cruise line Celebrity, if you are not happy go somewhere else, there will always be happy American tourists who will replace us Aussies!   You go to the States you will be paying the same price for coffee plus state taxes plus tips! 

[icat2000]

3 hours ago, sonia2509 said:

If you bought the beverage package on a good deal like we did, none of these prices matter.  

What do they charge per day for the beverage packages ? And what do you get in them. I haven't cruised Celebrity since 2016 so bit out of the loop. Good deal is the key. I haven't really seen any good deals from Celebrity of late. 

Edited March 11 by icat2000

[aussielozzie18]

14 hours ago, Okahukura said:

It was also our wedding anniversary yesterday. 10 whole years. So we got a nice treat at Luminae. Of course we needed a dessert wine to go with it 

Happy Anniversary!  Shame the weather on Hobart wasn’t kind to you.  Haven’t been to MONA yet so will note that need App when we visit.

[Chiliburn]

Not that I’m into it but they even charge for yoga sessions.A few of the gym sessions had charges also.

 

[Chiliburn]

9 hours ago, icat2000 said:

What do they charge per day for the beverage packages ? And what do you get in them. I haven't cruised Celebrity since 2016 so bit out of the loop. Good deal is the key. I haven't really seen any good deals from Celebrity of late. 

I’m not sure what the drinks packages are but you would have get it.

Theres three I believe and most of the people had to upgrade to the more expensive one to get a fancy drink.

[sonia2509]

10 hours ago, icat2000 said:

What do they charge per day for the beverage packages ? And what do you get in them. I haven't cruised Celebrity since 2016 so bit out of the loop. Good deal is the key. I haven't really seen any good deals from Celebrity of late. 

What I consider a good deal might not be a good deal for you.  It worked out to $300 a night for each of us. 3 in a sky suite in a perfect location Deck 10 right in the middle.  This was for everything including drinks up to $20 USD including gratuities.  How much would have a hotel room cost per night for 6 nights, then add breakfast, lunch and dinner and snacks, transport to any tourist sites etc?  The website states how much the drink packages are.  We had no issue finding the drinks we wanted under $20, coffee, water, sparkling water, smoothies, juices and soft drinks. You download the App and will receive notification when deals are offered,  We paid an extra $10 a day to upgrade from classic to premium during the Black Friday sales.  The original cost was approximately $1200 each for a concierge suite which included Classic Beverage and internet.  The only extra we paid since boarding is the Eden food experience.  We found a bargain and have enjoyed the whole cruise.